Airbrush painting shirts and other garments is very popular and is performed by artists all over the country. To airbrush a garment, an artist positions a garment over a board having a perforated screen. The artist then uses an airbrush to direct paint from a nozzle on the airbrush through the air and onto the garment. By maneuvering the airbrush, the artist is able to create original, custom-made designs for a customer. Because the customer and others are able to watch the creative steps of producing an airbrush shirt, the creative process of the artist is typically very entertaining to onlookers. Artist often perform airbrush painting in public places to entertain people passing by and also frequently relocate their airbrush equipment to different locations to give different groups of people an opportunity to purchase an airbrush shirt or other garment while being entertained.
One important problem of airbrush painting is that during the airbrushing of a garment, paint particulate or paint vapor become mixed with the air. These paint particles in the air can adversely affect the health of the airbrush artist and onlookers who may breath in to their lungs the paint particles. In particular, the artist who is continuously airbrushing shirts and other garments is particularly at risk to health problems developing from inhaling paint particles over an extended time period.
No effective solution to the problems associated with paint particles being placed in the air by the air brush has been developed. Some airbrush artists do wear masks over their nose and mouth to help prevent inhaling paint vapor or particles. However, the masks are uncomfortable to an artist. In addition, the masks are unsightly and detract from the entertainment value by making it difficult for the artist to talk with /nlookers as airbrushing is being performed. Fans and vents are also used to help prevent paint particles from being inhaled. However, fans and vents are not very effective and are unsightly. In addition, the fans and vents are not very portable and make it more difficult for an airbrush artist to change locations.
The problem of paint particles being placed in the air during other painting situations has been recognized in the prior art. For example, the following references disclose mechanisms for removing paint particles from the air: U.S. Pat. No. 690,746 issued Jan. 7, 1902 to Lundeburg; U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,371, issued on May 21, 1974 to Hardy; U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,789 issued on May 3, 1977 to Gamvrellis; U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,679, issued on Nov. 5, 1985 to Pipa et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,064, issued on Jan. 28, 1986 to Wust. There has never, however, been any vacuum system effectively designed for airbrush painting. There is a need for an airbrush vacuum system that helps prevent paint particles from being inhaled and that is easily portable and not unsightly.